SUGAR & SPICE

The New Testament is the only extensive source of information about the lives of the 12 disciples. Throughout the Bible there have been men, as well as women, whom God has chosen to accomplish His divine plans. Yet there were twelve men, specifically selected by Jesus, to travel with Him. The responsibility of the very words of the Master weighed like a heavy mantle upon them. The Twelve would continue representing Jesus long after He ascended into Heaven. Their dedication would impact the church long after their deaths. -

    The word “disciple” refers to a learner or follower. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent out.” While Jesus was on earth, His twelve followers were called disciples. The twelve disciples followed Jesus Christ, learned from Him, and were trained by Him. After His resurrection and ascension, Jesus sent the disciples out to be His witnesses (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). They were then referred to as the twelve apostles. However, even when Jesus was still on earth, the terms “disciples” and “apostles” were used somewhat interchangeably.
The original twelve disciples/apostles are listed in Matthew 10:2-4, “These are the names of the twelve apostles:
1. Peter: (Greek: Petrol meaning ‘Rock’) He was a fisherman by occupation on the Sea of Galilee. He was a married man. (Mark 1:30, 1 Corinthians 9:5)
2. John: (Meaning – God is gracious) He was the brother of James and the son of Zebedee.He was a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee along with his brother and father. (Mark 1:19-20). He was one of the three disciples, closest to Jesus, the others being Peter and James.
3. James: (Greek Iakobos- the English word Jacob meaning Israel or he who supplants his brother). James was the son of Zebedee (Mark 4:21).He was a fisherman along with his brother and father at the Sea of Galilee, in partnership with Peter and Andrew. (Luke 5:10). He was the first disciple (apostle) to be martyred. (Acts 12:2)
4. Andrew:(Greek -Andreas, meaning ‘Manly’, man), was the brother of Simon Peter, the son of Jonas, lived in Capernaum like his brother, and was a fisherman by occupation.
5. Philip:(Greek – Philippos, meaning ‘Lover of horses’). He was a close friend of Andrew and Peter, and a native of Bethsaida (John 1:44).He was the one who persuaded and brought Nathaniel to Jesus. (John 1:45-51)
6. Bartholomew:(Greek -bartholomaios meaning Son of Talmai). He is mentioned in all the four lists of the apostles in the New Testament. There is no other reference to him in the New Testament. Nothing much is known about him.
7. Thomas:(Greek -Thomas from Aramaic -te’oma meaning ‘twin’) He is also called ‘Didymus’ or ‘the Twin’ (John 11:16, 20:24, 21:2). When Jesus appeared to the apostles after His resurrection, Thomas was not present with them. His occupation is unknown.
8. Matthew: (Greek -maththaios- meaning ‘gift of Yahweh’) is also called ‘Levi’ (Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27). He was a tax collector by occupation. Jesus called him to be one of his disciples, when He was at the tax office (Mat 9:9, Mark 2:14). He is ascribed to be the author of the Gospel according to Matthew.
9. James: He was one of the apostles of Christ. He was the son of Alphaeus. Nothing much is known about him.
10. Thaddaeus: He is mentioned in two of the four lists of Jesus’ disciples. (Mat 10:3, Mark 3:18). In the other two lists he is variously called as Jude of James, Jude Thaddaeus, Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus. Nothing else is known about him apart from the mention of his names in the two lists.
11. Simon the Zealot: He is another disciple of Jesus. He was a member of a party later called as the ‘Zealots’ (Matthew 10:4, Mark 3:18)12.

12. Judas Iscariot: He is the disciple who betrayed Jesus. His last name ‘Iscariot’ is from the Hebrew word ‘Ish Kerioth‘ meaning ‘a man from Kerioth’, a place in the south of Judah (Joshua 15:25). He was a treasurer of the group. (John 12:6,13:29). After his betrayal of Jesus, he grieved for his actions and committed suicide. (Matthew 27:5). He is always mentioned last in the list of apostles.
13. Matthias: After Judas committed suicide after his betrayal of Jesus (Matthew 27:3–10), the eleven disciples selected Matthias as the twelfth disciple.

    The Twelve would witness miracles of healing, power over nature, and of raising the dead. Yet it wasn’t until “after” Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension that the disciples’ were transformed. Prior to His Ascension, Jesus “opened the disciples’ minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” Upon returning to His Father, Jesus would fulfill God’s promise—clothing them with the Holy Spirit’s power (Luke 24:45-49). The Holy Spirit supplied the driving force, enabling the disciples to accomplish the mandate Jesus had entrusted to them. The Twelve testified of who they knew Jesus Christ to be: Lord of all creation, Redeemer of all who trust in His death for their deliverance from sin, and the Source of eternal life for all who accept Him as their Savior.